Hero
by DigitalHex
Summary: When Neiku moves to Ponyville, he, his cousin Nimbus Aura and their timid friend Snap Drop are met with their most formidable adversary: teenage love. Meanwhile, now-teenage Cutie Mark Crusaders must live up to a promise they made a long time ago. My first Fic, contains CMCx3OC!
1. Prologue & Chapter 1: The New Blank

**Hero**

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

_Written by_ _FightorFlyT_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual rights of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I will not repeat this, as it should be quite obvious. I mean, seriously: F-A-N-F-I-C. Thank you.**

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Prologue

Sweetie Belle winced in a small amount of pain as discomfort swept through her body. There was a musty haze hanging in the air, and she could hear heavy, labored breathing around her. She slowly returned to conscious to see...

Scootaloo was hanging upside down in front of her, wrapped up tight in the coils of a great green serpent, aptly named the garden hose. She obviously had been struggling valiantly for quite some time, but now she simply hung trussed and strung up from the loft of the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Her pink mane was damp from perspiration, and she wore a highly irritated glowering glare.

"Well shoot! I thought fer sure we'd fi'nally found our special talent..." The light-toned southern drawl had come from their host, Apple Bloom. It had been Apple Bloom's idea in the first place to try... well, whatever they had tried this time.

Sweetie could recall the horrors of the incident. Scootaloo had been in charge of aiming the hose. Sweetie Belle was supposed to operate the on/off crank for the water supply. Apple Bloom was going to be their directional guidance. Scootaloo had positioned the spout of the mighty hose in a fashion that Sweetie assumed was pointing at Apple Bloom's target. Sweetie was given the go ahead to throw the crank, and she did. Right before that, however, she thought she's heard Apple Bloom say something about a clog in the hose.

That's right, Sweetie had gone around the length of the hose and spotted a kink. Right as she'd pulled it loose, however, she'd heard Apple Bloom scream and then everything had gone black...

_What WERE we trying to do this time, anyways,_ Sweetie Belle thought. _And where is Apple Bloom?_

Sure enough, they'd all found a way to get into yet another... bind. All in the name of earning their cutie marks. All in vain. Scootaloo was wrapped up worse than a bale of hay, Sweetie Belle was caught beneath the greater bulk of the remaining hose, and Apple Bloom... Apple Bloom...

Sweetie Belle looked around. Where was her red-maned fellow crusader?

"Apple Bloom?" she called out.

"Yeah?" Apple Bloom called back. She sounded close. Really close. In fact, so close that-

Sweetie Belle managed to spin her head around far enough to see Apple Bloom's head sticking out of the tip of the garden hose's spout. Figures.

"Don't worry, we'll get outta this mess!" Apple Bloom promised. Scootaloo groaned, upset but accepting her fate. Sweetie Belle only gulped in fear. If she knew her friend well enough (and she did), then they weren't going to be out of it for quite some time...

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Three hours later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were laughing away with a cup of apple juice in their hooves. While they had wiggled and squirmed away, Apple Jack finally noticed a certain yellow filly had been missing longer than expected. She'd looked high and low for her little sister, racing all across the farm. Or, at least, she would have;tracking them down had been easy. All she had to do (and did) was follow the trench of mud that was torn all across the farm. 'Following the destruction', she called it. After that, she'd manually extricated each crusader by hoove, an arduous task that took up the rest of the afternoon. She'd almost had to call Big Mac, her older brother, out to help her, that's how bad the three had managed to catch themselves.

Meanwhile, the sun had just set, and the night sky was a beautiful shade of deep purple. Stars twinkled here and there, and the moon cast a stunning light on the sleeping land. The Crusaders stared up at the sky with exhausted bliss. While they hadn't found their special talent in anything that day regardless of how much crusading they did-

"We'll get our cutie marks soon! I know we will!" Scootaloo said with excitement, her wild pink mane plastered against her orange hide. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom cheered with agreement, and they returned to watching the sky. Inside the Apple house, they heard Apple Jack and Granny Smith chatting away.

"- and I knew as soon as I met him, I could do anything." Granny Smith's words drifted out to the hungry ears of the three friends. At once, they all perked up and listened intently. You could almost hear their attention focus in on the words.

"Is she talking about... your granddaddy?" Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom after they caught more and more of the conversation. Granny Smith seemed to be conversing with Apple Jack.

"Sounds like it..." Apple Bloom answered after a pause, "Maybe it was when they met."

Granny Smith was indeed recalling the story of how she had met her husband such a long time ago. The story was short yet sweet, and left the Crusaders curious, not to mention confused.

"So... what exactly is love, anyways?" Scootaloo asked her friends. "I wouldn't say we know much about it, after Hearts and Hooves day..."

"Ah guess we don't really know all that well, either," Apple Bloom said, scratching her red mane. "It's not like any of us've ever had a coltfriend 'r somethin'..."

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom immediately turned their attention to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie raised an eyebrow at them. "What?" she asked defensively.

"We haven't had any coltfriends, haaave we?" both of her friends asked accusingly.

Sweetie Belle laughed at her friends. "Of course I haven't, girls! We do everything together a crusaders, so I think one of you would have noticed if I was dragging around some colt with me!" The trio chuckled. "Besides, why are you so worried about ME, Apple Bloom? Why, you and Spike have probably-"

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom interrupted. "It wasn't like that, how many times do ah have to tell you!?" She huffed, her face going a little red.

"I know, but it's so funny to see you get this worked up!" The three laughed again, falling onto their backs.

"So... what were we talking 'bout, anyways?" Apple Bloom asked nopony in particular.

"We were talking about... uh... Scootaloo?" Sweetie passed the question off to their flightless, winged friend. Scootaloo simply shrugged.

"Ah know it had something 'to do with our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom said.

"Oh," Sweetie Belle said, remembering the subject. "I think I know! Your Granny said she could do anything after she met your Granddaddy, right?" The attention returned to Apple Bloom.

"Yeah... 'nd... Wait a second, if-"

Scootaloo interrupted Apple Bloom, knowing exactly what she would say.

"Apple Bloom, we're too young to get coltfriends. Besides, do you even like anypony?"

Apple Bloom huffed and dropped her head, upset. "I was just sayin's, is all..." she said quietly.

"Well, Rarity has told me that every pony does eventually meet somepony they love..." Sweetie Belle stated. Her eyes were large and optimistic.

Scootaloo, who normally shunned from talks that had to do with relationships, fluttered her wings excitedly, hovering a few inches as she had a thought.

"Well, who says we won't ever meet somepony!" she practically yelled with glee. She finally had an idea, which was rather surprising considering she'd just derailed Apple Bloom's previous plan.

_She sounds really excited,_ Apple Bloom thought. _She never sounds this excited unless..._

Then Apple Bloom caught on, and in reality what she was catching on to was pretty much what she was trying to say when Scootaloo interrupted her.

"And when we meet that special somepony..." Apple Bloom began.

"...We can do anything..." Scootaloo continued, with Sweetie Belle finishing the thought.

"... Like getting our cutie marks!" The three of them cheered, having figured out their brilliant plan.

Then the saddening realization hit them. Hard. All three of them slumped back down onto the wooden deck.

"But... When'll we find somepony we really care for?" Apple Bloom asked her two friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shrugged.

"I don't know," Scootaloo answered.

"But just think," Sweetie Belle said while looking back up to the sky. "When we do find that special somepony, our dreams might come true! Imagine it!"

They all tried picturing it in their minds, but they were too young to really imagine what their dream buck would look like, much less the cutie mark they might have to go with him.

"Well, we have to promise something!" Scootaloo said, competition edging into her voice.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed, thinking the same thing.

"What are you suggesting, that we all have to find our special somepony at the same time?" Sweetie Belle laughed, eyes closing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looking at Sweetie, waiting for her decision.

Sweetie Belle peeked a look at both of them. Her two best friends in the whole wide world. "I wouldn't have it any other way!" She said happily.

"Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusader Marefriends-"

"Apple Bloom, what was that ah just heard you say!" Apple Jack could be heard rushing to the door.

The three girls giggled.

"Nothing, AJ!" Apple Bloom laughed.

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_**Chapter 1: The New Blank**_

**Six years later...**

The day was already beautiful. The sun was just breaking over the dawn, the sound of birds waking to the warm morning, singing their songs as they began to take flight. A slow, soft breeze tumbled through the quiet town of Ponyville, masking the early sound of orning rituals. This included mother mares making their foals breakfast, working bucks preparing a mug of coffee to start yet another day. A few parents had to yell at their sleepy children only to receive a hushed, "five more minutes."

And then you had-

"Mornin', Praggy! Ready for school?! Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are- Oof!" Nimbus Aura was sent flying across the room, crashing harmlessly into his bookshelf. The shelves croaked a little bit under the sudden strain.

"C'mon, Cloud! I'm tired!" Neiku called in an irritated voice from under his blanket, using the nickname Nimbus hated being called. It always managed to get a response from him. Sadly for Neiku, a response was not what he wanted just then.

Nimbus grew an evil grin, then walked over to the bedroom door while stopping his hooves in a dramatic fashion. The sounds make it seem like Nimbus had given up trying to rise his cousin. He passed through a bright ray of sunlight falling in through the window, making the small patch of freckles on his nose pop out in comparison to the lightning-yellow hide he was adorned with. His blazing blue hair was messy as usual, and reflected the light away.

"Well, I guess you'll just miss school then!" he called as he stopped in front of the door, closing it loudly and mimicking the sound of disappearing hoofsteps. Oh, this was going to be GOOD! He crept quietly over to his cousin's bed and, before Neiku could react, swiped the blanket from the bed. Cackling loudly, Nimbus barely dodged the pillow his cousin chucked at his head.

"Fine, you win. I'm up." The dark dust-blue pegasus stretched out his legs before rolling onto the floor, snapping out his wings to get the blood flowing. His short crop of jet black mane was cut in an exaggerated fashion of Zebra style as he was, after all, half Zebra. His signature strands of bright pink streaks stood a stark contrast to the serious colt. Then he smiled cheerfully, loosing his entire stoic demeanor. He flicked his similarly colored tail, which was quite long but cut relatively even at the end.

"Yeah! First day of school! Let's go!"

"That's what I'm talking about- hey!" Nimbus yelled as Neiku barreled past him.

Nimbus grinned excitedly and raced from the room with his cousin and friend, drifting in his hooves into the kitchen.

"Mornin', mum!" His distinct New Yolk accent was accentuated in the mornings, especially when he was excited. His dark yellow hide rippled with crazed energy as he rushed up and gave his mother a big hug. His mother, a light yellow unicorn with deep blue hair, returned his hug, ruffling his own wild patch of blazing blue mane. His tail was just as messy, as always.

"Now you two be good," Stratus Patch said while slicing up the last of the fruit for their lunches. "And Nimbus, introduce Passion to your friend, whats his name-"

"Snap Drop!" Nimbus yelled excitedly.

"Yes, Snap. He really is a sweet kid, so-"

Nimbus used his magic to pick up the two lunch sacks his mom had made, a light blue energy enveloping them.

"Let's go!" he called to Neiku, already out the door and waiting for his darker-hided cousin. He tapped his hoof in an irritated fashion against the wrist of his other hoof, mimicking the sign for 'we're late!'

Neiku grinned.

_Yep,_ he thought to himself as he raced outside, _today is going to be good!_

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Snap Drop was shy. Very shy. Helplessly shy. He wasn't even as tall as the mares in school, even though he could bench press half the class at once if he wanted to. That had to be a force of the universe having a grudge against him, he felt. But why would the universe not like him?

Snap walked to the Ponyville school house, looking sad and scared to the world but actually quite excited. Nimbus had said his cousin from the southern country of Panatone was going to start going to school with them. Maybe his cousin was friendly. Snap didn't have many friends. It wasn't that he didn't like any other ponies, it was just that... well... he wasn't exactly very social. He wasn't social at all, actually. The only reason Nimbus even met him in the first place was because Nimbus (being almost twice as tall as Snap) ran into him. Granted, they did become friends virtually instantly after, but still...

"Hey Snap!" Snap looked up, trying to locate where the voice was from. It was a female voice, but had a hint of country to it. He looked in his path and his heart skipped a beat. Standing in front of hm was none other than Apple Bloom. Suddenly, Snap Drop was very conscious of himself, from his deep green hair to his lack of a cutie mark, like her. She and Snap had known each other for the last four years, ever since the Drop family had bought a small section of the Apple's property to build a small house. Moon Drop, Snap's dad, had struck up a business deal with the apples, offering to process a small portion of the apples into candies that would then be sold to Sugar Cube Corner. The plan worked out well. Both families were receiving good incomes, and Apple Bloom and Snap Drop met each other one day when Apple Bloom was outside playing. Snap had, as usual, been listening to an audio textbook while working out. Of course.

"Snap? Ya okay?" Apple Bloom asked again? Snap's cheeks went slightly pale against his grey hide, his version of a blush. He couldn't speak. Not that he didn't want to, but he didn't know _what_ to say.

_Should I greet her? No, she just greeted me, so I should acknoledge that- wait, she did something with her hair today, I should- no, I need to greet her- but she just did- hair- greet- did- hair- greet- did-_

"Well... Ah'll see ya 'round, 'kay?" she said with a soft smile. Snap gave up with his thoughts and just nodded quickly. Apple Bloom laughed lightly and rejoined two other mares she had been walking with.

_Stupid, you should have just greeted her, then- no, wait. I should have commented on her mane. Even though she greeted me first- grrr!_

Snap sighed and gently tapped his head against one of his thick hooves, the tough yellow hide showing on his hooves making a soft thud sound.

_She looks really nice, though. She's matured a lot since I met her... gaaah..._

His deep green hair, cut preppy but clean, suddenly flattened against his head.

"Snap!" He knew that voice...

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"Snap!" Nimbus Aura said while scruffing up his tank-like friend's schoolcolt mane.

"How's it going, bro!"

Nimbus saw Snap smile at him, and barely heard a deep voice respond with a very quiet, "been alright."

Neiku trotted up besides the two. Nimbus was giving him a tour of the school at the moment, which so far had consisted of them... arriving. Apparently there wasn't much to the school.

"So Snap, this is Neiku, my cousin from Panatone! His name is Zebraik for 'Passion', but he says its Pragmatic-"

Neiku interrupted his cousin.

"My name doesn't MEAN pragmatic, I AM pragmatic! I believe in pragmatism; that is-"

This time, in a scene that surprised Nimbus in a way he had never been surprised before, Snap said something. Something LEGIBLE.

"-you believe in making life a practical path to follow-"

Neiku's eyes shot open; Nimbus had said his friend didn't speak. And now he knew his way of life, something surprisingly few ponies here seemed to understand.

"Yeah, that's it!" Neiku grinned, and Snap returned it with a small smile.

"What..." Nimbus muttered.

The school bell rang.

"Well, we should probably get to class. I'll see if I can get a seat next to you!" Neiku said to Snap Drop as the two trotted to their classroom.

"Okay." Snap Drop talked. Again. That was twice in the time span of... seconds!

Nimbus just stood there, in shock in disbelief. Ponies walked around him, heading to class. A few asked him why he was sitting there looking like he saw a ghost, but he didn't answer them. Eventually they moved on, not wanting to be late for class.

Many of the ponies whispered, "He's so weird," or "What's he doing," as they passed by. A few even went so far as to poke him, curious for a reaction. They got nothing.

Finally, right before the final bell rang, he managed to sputter out a mess of words.

"What the- happened- talked, twice- whaaaat?!"

And with that he turned hoof and rushed to class, just as the final bell rang.

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"Did you see the new kid? He's a blank flank!" A porky little spoiled mare with a pink hide gossiped with her apparent friend, who just from first sight looked just as snobbish.

Nearby, the three young mares known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders listened in momentarily before talking between themselves.

"Do you think that's true?" The orange pegasus in the group said hurriedly, absentmindedly running a hoof through her wild pink mane.

"It might be, Scootaloo," her white unicorn friend responded, a lazy look on her face. She wasn't really that interested in the new kid, whether he was absent of a cutie mark like her, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, or not. She just wanted a certain colt who she already knew... sort of... to arrive-

Suddenly, her face reddened ever so slightly. While it wasn't enough for her friends to notice, she immediately felt the heat of her muzzle as she watched Nimbus Aura walk in.

_He was almost late! Oh, he needs to be more careful about that,_ she thought carelessly to herself. _Although... he looks kinda cute when he's in a hurry..._

She realized what she had just thought, then quietly groaned and hid her face in her hooves, upset with her conflicting emotions about whether she had a crush or not. She took a few heavy breaths, then peeked back out.

Nimbus rushed to his seat, literally stumbling over his own hooves as he clumsily maneuvered through the desks. Finally, he fell into a rather pathetic heap in his seat, next to a short but stout earth pony Sweetie Belle realized not long ago was his friend... Apparently his only one, actually.

_I should ask him why he's late... No, never mind_ she said to herself as she turned in her seat to face the teacher. Miss Cheerilee taught the lower class, while Miss Lantern taught the upper class. Sweetie Belle, her friend Scootaloo and her other friend Apple Bloom were all juniors this year, and would be graduating school altogether the next year. But there was still one fact that haunted them still, something so embarrassing they wished with all their hearts they could fix soon. Something like being a-

"Blaaank flaaank..." Sweetie Belle heard Diamond Tiara, a stuck-up rich pony near the back of the class, coo towards the three friends. She sighed, getting ready for more insults to come her way. They never did.

"Alright class, lets meet our new student today. Would you like to introduce yourself, maybe tell us where you're from?"

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Scootaloo was trying very hard. These days, that was a rather rare sight to see if she was within two hundred paces of the schoolhouse. She had a goal, and she was almost there. Aaalmooost... Just a little bit more...

"Oh, uh..." A nervous but powerful voice, like a smooth line of bass, suddenly drug her from her attempts at dozing off.

Scootaloo snapped her head up so fast at the voice she gathered concerned stares from nearby classmates, including her fellow crusaders. Already, rumors were beginning to form in the minds of several students.

_That voice was... actually really sweet, _she said in her head. _And cute at the same time- no, not what I want to think! _She looked over to see who it was that had woken her with his... attractive voice.

At the front of the class stood a lean pegasus, his hide was dark blue in a way that was almost gray. He had a black stripe over his nose, and his mane was black with two bright pink stripes poking out from the clean-cut mohawk-like style. It kind of resembled a military style of Zecora's mane.

_Fashion statement, maybe? _She asked herself. _I should ask Sweetie later..._

"Uh..." the pegasus stammered, and Scootaloo realized he was sending odd glances her way.

_Why is he looking at me,_ she thought quickly as she felt the blood beginning to work its way into her face. _Did I do something? What did I-_

Then she realized she was flittering a good foot above her desk, her wings flapping so fast they seemed to be just vibrating. Her face went bright red as she locked eyes with him, and she dropped back into her seat.

"What a freak," she heard Diamond Tiara mutter, followed by an agreeing snort from Silver Spoon. Scootaloo ignored the verbal jab, deciding to save her remaining pride and dignity.

The mystery pegasus shifted his hooves slightly, then recovered and returned to speaking.

"Aaanywaaays... My name's Neiku, and I'm from Panatone. It's a small country far south of Equestria's border. I just moved here to stay with my cousin, Cloud-"

"It's Nimbus, Praggy!" Nimbus interrupted.

"Thanks, Cumulus. Anyways-" Sweetie and Scootaloo giggled lightly at the joke, as did Nimbus even though it was about him. Hey, he could appreciate a good joke.

"What?" Apple Bloom said quietly, not getting it. She didn't do very well with anything that wasn't a part of the ground.

"As my cousin hinted with the name, I'm a Pragmatic, which is a culture in Panatone. In Panatone, we don't have a lot of space or natural resources. Thus, we had to make our way of living work with the limitations. So, we became Pragmatics. A Pragmatic is-" Neiku then caught Snap Drop's eyes, and had a sudden idea. He nodded for him to join him, and Snap did so, thoroughly confused.

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_What's he want me to do?_ Snap thought, a little worried.

He joined Neiku at the front of the room, staring at the ground.

"Actually," Neiku said, setting his hoof on Snap's shoulder, "my new friend Snap here knows what a Pragmatic is. How about you tell them?"

Snap's eyes suddenly shot open, while his pupils shrunk to the size of beads. His breathing became harsh. His body stiffened as the entire class drew in a sharp breath, not expecting the new kid to ask the quietest colt in the class to speak.

"... What...?" Snap finally muttered, barely above a whisper (no, it was pretty much just a whisper).

Neiku sighed with a tiny grin.

"Well, a Pragmatic is-" Neiku started, but as he hoped he was finished by Snap Drop, just as he was hoping the stout earth pony would.

"-a pony who lives by a standard of making life itself a practical goal, and usually sets practical goals throughout life as opposed to fantasies-" Snap Drop stopped. He could literally _feel_ the attention he was receiving at that moment. He didn't like it. He shrunk a little in his stance, terrified.

_Did I really just say that?!_ He thought to himself, scared. From the saucers staring at him all around the room, he took that as a yes.

"Yep! Thanks, Snap!" Neiku said in a cheery tone, feeling like he accomplished something important and substantial. He gave Snap a light pat on the back.

"... Yeah..." Snap muttered as he trotted back to his seat. Everypony's eyes followed him on his little trip. When he sat down, he tried to keep from looking at anypony, but Apple Bloom managed to catch his eye and gave a sincere smile, mouthing 'good job' to him.

He smiled a little,feeling his face warm ever so slightly. _Maybe Neiku knows what he's doing..._

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The final bell rang, and all of the students filed out of the room in the most unorganized fashion since... well, the day before.

Instantly, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered up outside of the school, talking between themselves.

"He really didn't have a cutie mark! I can't believe it!"

"Ah can't believe he got Snap to say something! Ah don't get why the guy's so shy, even if he doesn't have a cutie mark either-"

"He's cousins with Nimbus?! I didn't know there were two blank flanks in his family! THIS IS A SIGN!"

The trio of girls kept chattering away, oblivious to their male subjects walking past them.

"- I can't believe it! You got him to talk! Say something again, say something!" Nimbus was talking very excitedly as the three walked out, Nimbus and Neiku shielding Snap from the stares he was still getting from his little speech earlier.

Snap's face was deep red, flustered from all the attention he'd received that day.

"Well, I-" he started, but stopped short. Nimbus cackled wildly.

"Amazing! Praggy, you're a genius!" Nimbus said, praising his cousin.

Neiku grinned lightly, then tilted his head slightly. It felt as though somepony was staring at him. He turned around, but of course EVERYPONY was staring at him.

_Great, I'm the weird foreign kid now aren't I?_

He felt the wind change direction. Battle lines were being drawn. A few mares eyed him hungrily, scratching at the ground as their tongues flicked across their lips. He could see the flags raise. This was about to be a battleground. Then the first mare charged.

"Ruuun!" Neiku yelled.

The three took off, sprinting as fast as they could. This was going to be a long day.

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**A/N: Well, there you go. Chapter One. This took me about two hourse to write and then type, so if aypony likes it I suppose I could keep the story going...**

**I just kinda started this cuz there really wasn't enough good CMCxOC stories online. Atleast, not many I could fully appreciate.**

**Anyways, please rate/review. This is my first story, so if this doesn't live up to our standards I AM SORRY!**

**If enough reviews are good, I'll type more chapters. G'night!**


	2. Chapter 2: Development

**Hero**

_Written by FightorFlyT_

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**Chapter 2: Development**

_Neiku jolted from his sleep at the sudden crashing sound that suddenly assaulted his ears. He turned sleepily towards the direction. Standing in his doorway was his father, the shaman Neitu. The grizzled zebra gave a long, sad look at his son before turning and walking away, using his magic to close the door behind him. Neiku stared at the closed door, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes._

_ "Dad..." Neiku whimpered. He slowly threw the covers from his body and carefully edged his way to the door to his small bedroom. Cracking it ajar only slightly, he looked into the open central room of his family's hut._

_ A giant boulder was sitting in the middle of the room, glass twinkling in a shiny trail behind it, leading back to a huge, jagged hole in the large window of the room. The pane had spider-webbed impressively, but thanks to the magic Neitu had imbued into the glass the pane had not completely shattered._

_ "... we've made up our minds, Neitu. While we understand your reasoning, the village has spoken. We can't let that, that- thing- live here any more! Not with our children and wives having to fear what might happen-" The wiry sounding village chief was cut short by Neitu's booming voice._

_ "What is this I hear you say?! You call my son a _thing_ today? This taken lightly, it shall not. In the pits of Hell, I hope you rot. You say he must leave, he is a threat; but ask yourself, then what comes next? If he really is as bad as you fear, then he must never lose the ones he holds dear. Think, good sir, think long and hard; would you like to be sent away, afar?"_

_ The chief thought for a moment, but responded with what could only be recognized as malice._

_ "You have just signed that spawn's death-wish," he said with a snarl before storming out the door. As soon as he was out of the hut, Neitu wheeled around and faced his son. Neiku jumped lightly, only realizing his father had known of his presence the entire time. The sorrow that gleaned in his father's eye was enough to send Neiku into tears._

_ "Daddy, what are-"_

_ "Neiku, you have to go." Neiku's mother, Fair Hope, appeared by her husband. "We're sorry dear. I wish we could- I wish there was another-"_

_ Suddenly, an explosion rocked the hut. The harsh orange glow of flames flooded the inside of the hut, and the temperature inside rose dramatically. Neitu instantly sent a locking spell on the front door, and the pulsing magic on his horn revealed worse was being hindered._

_ "Neiku, come with mommy. We need to pack some things for you. Come on." Fair Hope held back her tears valiantly as she drug Neiku back into his room. Producing a small, worn leather saddle bag, she began placing a few items into it. In went Neiku's cherished ocarina, a family sign of nobility given to him by his father; Hope also tossed in his ratty cloth scarf, as well as a framed picture of Neiku, Neitu, Fair Hope and Neiku's baby sister, Dream. Finally, Fair Hope deposited a sealed envelope labeled _My sister, Stratus Patch_._

_ The crying pegasus ushered Neiku over, and gently kissed his unmarked forehead._

_ "I love you, baby. We'll see each other again really soon, okay?" Fair Hope looked into her son's eyes, his pupils pinpricks against the brilliant blue of his irises. She wanted to look into his eyes just a little bit longer, she never wanted to have to say good bye-_

_ An ear-shattering KRACKA-BOOM! Shook the hut again, and the structure began to fall in on itself. For Neiku, everything went by in slow motion. He saw his mother, tears streaming freely now, drag him over to his father, who then kissed Neiku on the head as well. By now, the hut was being engulfed in flames. The angry cries of a mob could barely be heard outside from the crackling flames._

_ Neiku felt his body being engulfed in the brilliant energy of his father's magic, and he started crying._

_ "Momma! Momma! I don't want to go! MOMMA!"_

_ Fair Hope just smiled sadly at her son, her eyes red and puffy as the tears poured down her face. Already, her body was being scorched by the heat of the flames._

_ "Good bye son. I love you."_

_ "Neiku felt his body fizzle away, the tell-tale sign he was being transported. Another rock, this time burning with cursed oils and blends, was lobbed through a wall, crushing half of the two-story hut and blocking Neiku's view of his parents. The heat was becoming unbearable, the air was thick and choking of the acrid smoke. Neiku was almost gone._

_ And with a final POP, Neiku disappeared right as the hut exploded into a brilliant fireball._

"MOMMA!" Neiku swung up bolt right, breathing heavily. Sweat was pouring off of him, his heartbeat was racing, and he felt a something wrapped around his mouth. Something wasn't right.

He swung around, jumping back as he did so. In front of him, a snow white unicorn mare with a softly stylized pink and soft purple mane was looking at him with a confused face, her hoof extended in mid-air. They appeared to be in a small closet, and the distance Neiku had covered in his short hop was the length of the entire room. Neiku recovered his breathing, and noticed that his two friends were crammed into the closet as well, along with a yellow earth pony mare with a large red mane and an orange pegasus mare with a wild pink mane.

He took their shocked stares in, then huffed in relief as he realized he had simply been dreaming earlier. Reliving the nightmare...

"What in tarnation was THAT?!" The yellow mare whispered harshly, not letting her voice get to loud as she looked out through the cracked doorway. Nopony seemed to have noticed the scream.

"What was... what?" Neiku asked, his hazy purple eyes gleaned over as they had been for a while.

"Well, you kinda just screamed for your mom," Nimbus stated, his voice too in a whisper.

Neiku rubbed the back of his mane awkwardly. "Just a bad dream, I guess..." he said quietly.

"Yeah, I'll say," the yellow mare huffed. "Is the coast clear, Sweetie?"

The white unicorn- Sweetie, as her friend had called her- sent out a short spell, her horn glowing a faint hue before dimming out. "Yeah, I guess so..."

_Wow,_ Neiku thought to himself, _he voice is so... wow._

Slowly and carefully, the six of them slid from the closet and into the center of a large room. From what Neiku could ascertain, he seemed to be standing in the middle of a giant hollowed-out tree... that also functioned as a library, judging from the large quantity of books decorating the walls.

As soon as the six exited the closet- our in reality, stumbled and fell out of the closet, sprawled all over the floor, the three mares gathered up in front of the three bucks.

"So... you guys are blank flanks too, I guess?" the orange mare asked, doing everything she possibly could to avoid even making eye contact with Neiku, a blush ready to flare up on her face if she did. _I don't even really like him all that much,_ she kept on angrily thinking, though not-so-deep down she knew it to be a lie.

"Yeah," Nimbus said, pulling himself up. He was a short bit taller than Neiku, who was in turn a bit taller than the mares, making the yellow unicorn the tallest one in the room at the moment. Snap Drop was still the shortest one by a few hooves.

Nimbus trotted over to the orange mare, sticking out his hoof rather politely.

"It's Scootaloo, right?" he asked warily, ready for one of her usual sarcastic quips. Instead, she grinned proudly, returning his hoof.

"Yeah... Nimbus, isn't it?" Nimbus nodded with a quick, short smile. Neiku and Snap Drop sat back, watching Nimbus introduce himself to the three females.

"Hey, Snap," Apple Bloom said gently to Snap Drop, eliciting a shy smile from him and a quick mutter that might have been a similar greeting.

When Nimbus turned to Sweetie Belle, sticking out his hoof with a goofy smile splayed across his face, Sweetie turned a visibly bright shade of red, and she did the one thing she knew how to do relatively well: panic. After all, her older sister was a master at it.

She darted past Nimbus and found herself face-to-face with Neiku. Neiku felt himself going a little red, but thankfully he didn't show his own blush too well. Still, Sweetie found relief in having narrowly dodged a very uncomfortable situation-

"uh..." both Nimbus Aura and Neiku said at the same time.

-... or not. Sweetie Belle laughed nervously.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Where are my manners?" with slightly shaking hooves, she quickly shook both Neiku's and Nimbus's hooves at the same time. She then retreated back a little bit, to where Apple Bloom and Snap Drop were standing.

"Well... okay..." Scootaloo said casually, obviously noticing what had just occurred.

_Who'd have thought Sweetie would be the one to act so jittery in front of a little crush,_ she thought to herself.

"Anyways..." Scootaloo took a deep breath, prepared herself for what she was about to do, then turned and faced Neiku. "You're the new kid, Neiku, right?" While she had managed to keep from bursting into a maddening blush, she couldn't refrain from having some very girlish thoughts racing around in her mind. Most of them were all focusing on how cute he was.

"Yep," Neiku said. Scootaloo waited for him to elaborate on... well, something. He didn't.

"A-huh..." she thought aloud. "Well... the three of us-" she waved a hoof towards Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and herself- "couldn't help but notice that the three of you didn't have your cutie marks." Neiku and Nimbus's ears perked up at this; while they weren't inherently as upset about not having recognized their special talent, they were still all to self conscious of the fact.

"Yes... so, what are you proposing?" Nimbus questioned. He was honestly interested in what the orange mare had to say.

"Well," she began, "I'm Scootaloo. This here is Apple Bloom, and the unicorn who is currently acting a liiitle too much like Fluttershy is Sweetie Belle."

Neiku leaned over slightly towards Nimbus, whispering under his breath, "who's Fluttershy?"

Nimbus didn't respond, and Scootaloo carried on.

"The three of us make up the most dedicated group of ponies in Ponyville, for we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" she said this with a triumphant stomp, expecting an 'ooh' or snort of approval. All she got was silence.

"... The who-now?" Neiku asked her, head cocked to the side.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders! We have a single goal: to discover our special talent and finally earn our cutie marks. You're new here, so you probably don't know how hard it is to be a blank flank."

_Oh, I'm quite aware thank you,_Neiku thought rather angrily in his head.

"But, the point is, we're gonna find our special talents! Together!" At this, the three mares suddenly bunched up, grinning ear-to-ear.

"That's rather... moving," Neiku said flatly.

_… What? _Scootaloo thought to herself. _He's supposed to be impressed at our dedication! At our commitment! Why isn't he begging to join- oh, wait... Maybe he doesn't realize-_

"Look," Scootaloo said to him. "We figured that if the three of us worked together to try and find our special talent, we'd have more success... So... We were thinking, maybe, I don't know..."

"You'd want to join?" Sweetie Belle spoke directly to Neiku. While Scootaloo had been stumbling over her words, Sweetie Belle had come up with a plan. A marvelous plan. A wonderful plan. A perfect plan. A plan that involved befriending Neiku to get closer to Nimbus.

While it seemed a little mean to be using him like that, she figured she could hep out Scootaloo as well and maybe get him interested in her pegasus friend. Plus, it's not like she was just going to manipulate him to get what she wanted, then throw him away. She was honestly interested in making new friends, and Neiku seemed nice enough. And Scootaloo was right; if they wanted to earn their cutie marks before they graduated, they'd need some serious help. Maybe recruiting more Crusaders would give them the boost they needed.

"Really?" This time it was Nimbus that spoke. Scootaloo nodded vigorously, while Apple Bloom smiled in agreement. Sweetie Belle had seemed to have settled a little bit next to Neiku.

"Well... I'm all for it!" Nimbus said. "I mean, I might not be as crazy as you mares- no offense,"

"None taken," Scootaloo laughed.

"-but if it means I might actually learn what I'm good at, then hey! I'm all for it!"

Scootaloo whooped in glee as she patted Nimbus on the back. One down, two to go.

"Sure, I'm in." Scootaloo wheeled around. _Did he seriously just agree? Just like that?_ She looked directly at Neiku, who just grinned professionally. "I'll join your group. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something good from this," he laughed.

_What does he think this is, a school project?_ Scootaloo winced at the thought.

Apple Bloom glanced at Snap Drop, who hadn't said a word. As usual.

_If only he would say something..._ Apple Bloom hoped.

"So Snap..." Snap Drop brought his attention to Apple Bloom. "Do you... want to join?" She asked this as softly as possible, and with the most honest smile she'd ever given. She knew just how delicate she had to be around Snap.

"...sure..." Snap whispered. Apple Bloom grinned happily.

"Then it's settled! You three are now part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle announced. "Now, you need to come with me, Neiku!" Sweetie Belle used her magic to grab Neiku by the scruff of his neck and drag him behind her as she trotted out of the library.

"Wait, what?" Neiku cried, flinging his arms around desperately for something to hold purchase to. His eyes were wide in pure fear. _What does she want?!_

"Yep, that's right! Let's- oof!" Sweetie felt her magic suddenly pull against her, and she looked back to see Neiku had grasped Nimbus's hooves.

"Don't let go, Nimbus!"

Sweetie Belle groaned lightly, and slowly doubled her magic, slowly pulling Neiku back towards her.

"I'll never let go!" Nimbus assured. The two of them made eye contact. A moment was shared. Somewhere far away, a snail sighed.

"I... said... let's... GO!" Sweetie Belle cried out, and shoved all of her magic into pulling Neiku after her. Neiku's grip slipped, and he was flung into Sweetie causing them to fly out the door to the library. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo..." Neiku's voice trailed away, leaving Apple Bloom and Snap Drop staring in shock at what happened while Nimbus and Scootaloo gave the incident a single thought. Then they moved on.

"Rather dramatic, I see... I like it!" Scootaloo said, laughing with Nimbus as she lightly tapped his shoulder.

Nimbus pretended to wear a hurt expression. "It's just... I told him I'd never let go! He was so young!" He cried in absolute seriousness... Then silence. Silence... Silence...

The two burst out cackling at their own cruel inside joke.

"You should have tried harder! He was your own cousin!" Scootaloo choked out between laughs.

"Why?" Nimbus said in a curious tone, concern drawn across his face.

"Well..." Scootaloo pushed herself up onto her front hooves. "She's been acting kind of... weird, since her showed up. I know I'm not exactly, y'know-"

"-Actually, I don't-" Nimbus added.

"- an expert when it comes to these things, but... I think Sweetie Belle might like him!" Scootaloo finished. Then an evil look crossed her face as the realization hit her.

"_Wait... I like him! Why,, that little..._"

"Uh, Scootaloo?" Nimbus said warily. Scootaloo looked up from her quick lapse.

"Huh? What?"

"You just said you... like Neiku?" Nimbus said in wonder.

Scootaloo's face lit up redder than than ever before. "W-what?! When did I- but that-" she stumbled over her words. _Did I just say that out loud! Oh no, this is totally NOT cool!_

"W-well I- it's just- I mean, not- YOU HAD BETTER NOT TELL ANYPONY!" Scootaloo screamed at Nimbus, pointing a hoof directly into his face. Nimbus laughed aloud as he gently nudged the hoof away.

"Now why would I do that? It'd ruin the fun of holding it over your head, threatening to use it against you unless you fulfill all of my deepest desires and fantasies in the most bizarre and potentially uncouth of ways-"

A dull thud echoed throughout the library. Nimbus's eyes widened at Scootaloo. A minute went by... Then another minute... And another...

Finally, Scootaloo pulled her jaw off of the floor, screaming at him with her hoof back in his face. "You- YOU PERV!"

Nimbus laughed. "You honestly thought I'd do that? I'm shocked! Flabbergasted! Astounded, to say the least!" Nimbus repeated his soft swipe, and looked straight into Scootaloo's eyes.

"I'd never really do something so shallow and cruel, Scootaloo. Promise."

_Wow, her eyes are... kinda pretty-_

Nimbus shook away the thought. _Nope, not gonna focus, not gonna fall-_

"Really?" Scootaloo asked in surprise. Her bright purple eyes were pleading. She was honestly a little thrown off to hear him say he was joking. He _did_ seem like the kind of colt to do something like that...

"Yeah, promise," Nimbus assured.

"Pinkie Pie promise?" Scootaloo demanded, her face suddenly mere inches from Nimbus's muzzle.

"Uhh... what?"

"You know-" Scootaloo sighed before she recited the Pinkie Pie promise.

"_Cross my heart and hope to fly-_" she crossed her heart and flittered her wings quickly, hovering a half pace above the floor-

"_Stick a cupcake in my-_" she jabbed herself right in her eye.

"OW!" she yelled, falling to the floor. Nimbus laughed at her performance, but stopped immediately when he saw her face fall into an embarrassed tone.

"Eye, I assume?" Nimbus said as he gently trotted over to Scootaloo, who was doubled over. She was clearly upset that she'd just made a fool of herself, but for her to fall this far into self-disappointment was a little extreme.

Nimbus gently laid a hoof on her shoulder, causing her head to jolt to face him, surprise clearly drawn on her face.

"Well then, ay ay!" Nimbus smirked. "Pinkie Promise-" His words fell short as a hoof connected with the side of his face, throwing him a good four or five paces to the side.

"WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT FOR?!" he yelled at a now triumphant Scootaloo who was standing with a suddenly renewed pride and dignity.

"We're even now, duh," she retorted. Nimbus just stared obliviously at her.

"... What?"

"We're even now," she repeated. "I got hit in the face, you got hit in the face. E-VEN!"

Nimbus just continued staring at the obviously competitive mare, then burst out laughing hysterically. Scootaloo joined in, though more so because of the light bruise that was forming on Nimbus's weak hide.

_Jeez, I didn't deck him _THAT_ hard... Did I?_

"Hey," Nimbus said after a while, breaking the laughter rather abruptly. "Where's Snap Drop?"

"And where's Apple Bloom, too?" Scootaloo added.

. . . . . . . . . .

Apple Bloom and Snap Drop trotted slowly down the street through Ponyville. Neither of them dared to speak a word. Apple Bloom was scared that if she started talking to Snap, she'd scare him. Snap was just... well, Snap. He simply didn't talk.

The two of them followed the road as it headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. Still, both of them remained silent. As they passed by the High School, they could hear the rumbling of desperate mares trying to find Neiku. Apple Bloom giggled lightly to herself at the recent memory of how they'd caught Neiku. Scootaloo had clocked him with a board as he rounded a corner, and they five of them had drug him into a closet in the library.

Snap Drop realized Apple Bloom was giggling, and smiled. _Her laugh is really sweet..._ He thought.

Apple Bloom saw Snap Drop begin to smile, and decided it was time to break the silence.

"Y'know, Snap, we don't really talk much for havin' known each other for such a lng time 'nd all."

Snap blushed a little, but remained silent. _Shestalkingtomeshestalkingto meshestalkingtome..._

"Snap?" Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at Snap. The light gray-green of the colt in question's face was now completely red.

"Snap..." Apple Bloom repeated, and Snap suddenly jerked his head around to face her, seeming to snap out of a day dream or something similar.

"Hey," Apple Bloom said suddenly, having an idea. "Why don't you come over 'ta my place! We could definitely use 'yer help on the farm n'all."

Snap Drop seemed to ponder it over for a second. After a while, Apple Bloom barely caught a muttered _I don't know..._

"C'mon, Snap..." Apple Bloom gave him her most pleading look. "Pleeeaaase?"

Snap Drop took one look at her then sighed. He mustered up all of his courage just to squeak out on tiny word.

"...okay..."

Apple Bloom grinned ear-to-ear.

"Yay! Okay, then when we get there we can see if Big Mac needs some help first. You're strong enough to pull the plow, so..." And with that Apple Bloom was off, having quite a long-winded one-sided conversation with the colt she'd known for years.

Snap Drop smiled again. Maybe he could get to know Apple Bloom a little better. Maybe he could finally gather enough strength to talk with her. Maybe... Maybe...

Maybe.

. . . . .

Neiku sighed in defeat.

Sweetie Belle continued dragging him along behind her, pretending to be completely oblivious to his many, many, MANY desperate bids for freedom he'd been attempting recently. Other ponies had noticed though. Neiku was still receiving looks of pure pity from several adult ponies as Sweetie Belle drug him through town. Where she was taking him, he hadn't the slightest clue.

"So..." Neiku voiced, trying to at least start a conversation with his abductor. "Is there... anywhere in particular that we may be going?" Neiku waited for a response.

"It's my sister and I's place," she responded after a time. "We need to discuss something," she added, "and I couldn't think of anywhere else that would be private enough.

"A-huh..." Neiku grunted, being skipped over a rock in the path. His rump would have a decent welt on it soon.

_Hmm, maybe it'll welt up where my cutie mark goes... Heh, I'll have a bruise for a cutie mark! What would that make my special talent, having a bruise cutie mark? And only having it on one side, too... _Neiku chuckled to himself at his completely random thought.

"Something funny?" Sweetie Belle asked back to him.

_What the- this mare be crazy! First she abducts me, then she wants to know about some little inside joke?! What next, she going to split my loins apart and bask in the- okay, a little gruesome, and anyways I am getting just a bit too worried about this. She probably just needs help with something a little embarrassing to talk about in front of other_-

"Hey! I asked you a question!" Sweetie had stopped trotting along and was suddenly muzzle-to-muzzle with Neiku. His eyes shrunk in fear.

_...She might be crazy yet..._

"U-um, it was just a little joke in my head, miss..." Neiku gulped hard, trying to give an honest smile but it didn't really come out right.

"Okay..." Sweetie Belle said, raising an eyebrow at what he was doing with his lips. It looked like he just drank something really bitter and his mouth was doing everything in it's power to act as though it HADN"T drank manure. _Odd comparison... Oh well_, she added.

"And it's not miss, it's Sweetie Belle."

"Neiku nodded slightly. "O-okay..." _Oh sweet goddess of the stars, please please PLEASE don't let her do anything to me!_

"SO, what were you laughing about?" Sweetie asked.

_Crabapples..._ Neiku grimaced.

"It was nothing, really... just some stupid idea I came up with, honest!"

Sweetie Belle was having none of it.

"Tell me! Tell me!" She stamped her hoof on the ground hard for emphasis of her impatience. If Neiku had known her older sister, he probably would have thought she looked just like her right now.

"Well..." Neiku began, but halted when a **new** idea came to his mind.

"Well, if I'm going to tell you, then you have to release me from your magic first. It's a- um-"

_C'mon, excuse... excuse... exc- brilliant!_

"-it's a demonstration! I need to be able to move a bit to show you, ahehe..."

Sweetie Belle looked at him oddly, not fully convinced he wouldn't try and run away as soon as she released her grasp on him.

"How do I know you won't try and escape as soon as I let go?"

Eh, a direct approach works most of the time.

"I won't! I won't!" Neiku assured.

"Well... okay-"

Sweetie Belle let go of Neiku with her magic.

"But you better not... run off..." she said to empty space.

_… I knew he would run off..._

Neiku groaned loudly. Not only had Sweetie Belle caught him seconds after he'd bolted, but now she'd wrapped her tail around his neck and chest to ensure he couldn't run again. He was back to being stuck looking at the ground they'd already covered, sky they'd already passed by.

_Her tail is soft..._ Neiku thought absentmindedly, having given up struggling. _It kind of feels like cotton candy... It smells sweet, too. I wonder what shampoo she uses._

Sweetie Belle spoke up, kicking him from his thoughts.

"You never answered me!" she growled. "What was the joke?" She had quite the venom in her voice now.

"Oh, that... I was just thinking about what it'd be like if the ground pounded a cutie mark into my rump. A bruise for a cutie mark, funny stuff for me." Neiku added a dry chuckle at the end, ready for some sour comment from his captor about what a stupid thought that was. He was almost a full-grown buck, and he still hadn't found his special talent. Yeah, he'd definitely heard THAT one before...

But instead of the heartless lecture he'd expected to hear from the mare, he was greeted by the sound of... was that laughter?

Neiku craned his head to the side just enough to hear a soft, honest laugh emanating from Sweetie Belle. Had she actually found his little daydream humorous?

"Yeah, and if it only came in on one side, that'd be good!" she added, still laughing.

"Yeah..." Neiku said. "I'm sorry, but did you actually think that was funny?"

"What? Of course I did, cuz it WAS!" Sweetie Belle laughed a bit more, and Neiku joined in. It felt good laughing, after the terrifying past five minutes.

After a short while, Sweetie Belle stopped walking. They'd stopped in front of a huge building with a sign out front identifying it as a fashion boutique. Sweetie Belle shuffled on her hooves.

"This is where I live... Now, if I let you go do you promise not to try and run away again? I don't want to have to explain this to Rarity if she sees you like this, but I will if I have to!"

Neiku shrugged (in his head, of course. Sweetie Belle wouldn't have been able to see it if he'd actually shrugged). Might as well let her trust him, and plus: she'd laughed at his joke. It might be simple, but if this high-class pony thought his little thought was funny, he should give her a chance.

"Sure. Promise."

"I don't believe you..." Sweetie Belle thought aloud.

"Then don't release me," Neiku stated blankly. "I don't think I have any other word in the matter." With that, he stopped talking, letting Sweetie Belle make up her mind.

Sweetie Belle sighed, giving in to him. She unwrapped her tail from around him and, with a slight hesitation, released her magic. She expected him to immediately taker off into the sky, but much to her surprise Neiku stood up and flexed his wings, shaking some dirt and dust from his lower backside.

After he was relatively clean, Neiku looked up at Sweetie Belle.

"Alright, let's go."

With that, Sweetie Belle led him inside of the Carousel Boutique.

Sweetie Belle probably should have prepared Neiku one teeny tiny factor.

Her older sister.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**[A/N]: I _waaas _planning on having this chapter be a long one, but what-with starting my job this week and having an all-day JROTC competition, I couldn't really get much more than this written... But never fear! I shall have another chapter ready next weekend! Hopefully a little longer than this one... Anyways, you like the plot set-up at the beginning of the chapter? Hmm, Passion has a dark past... We just might see more of that in chapters to come! FightorFlyT out!**

**xD**


	3. Chapter 3: Sweet Chances

**Hero**

_Written by FightorFlyT_

. . . . . . . . . .

**Chapter 3: Sweet Chances**

"Rarity! I'm back!" Sweetie Belle called out as she and Neiku walked inside the boutique.

A sudden crashing sound shot out from further within, and a split second later a small, rather fluffy fluffy cat darted from the depths of the building.

"Opalescence? What's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked as Opalescence rushed beneath a stack of fabric sheets and curled up in a ball, absolutely terrified.

"No no NO! Absolutely NOT!" A voice that sounded rather high class and, quite honestly to Neiku, snoodish, screamed from somewhere above them.

Sweetie Belle sighed, face-hoofing. "She gets like this, sometimes," she explained awkwardly. "We should probably just... y'know, let her _work it out_."

Neiku nodded slowly, not wanting to get on Sweetie's sister's bad side. From what he'd heard, that was a BAD idea.

Sweetie Belle took a sharp breath to try and fill the silence that had surrounded the two. Neiku sighed, garnering a questioning look from Sweetie Belle.

"SO, is there something I can _do_ for you?" Neiku said with his eyes closed. He was, quite honestly, a little irritated with the mare in front of him. She'd abducted him, for Faust's sake!

Sweetie suddenly blushed furiously, looking at her hooves. "Y-yeah, a-actually..."

Neiku cracked an eye open at Sweetie, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Please, do tell," he voiced with sudden aggravation. While he wasn't a violent pony, he was just as easily annoyed as the next. Especially when he's drug from a library on his rump to a mare's house, just to have her lock up on him!

"Well, i-it's about... uh..." Sweetie Belle stammered. _He's gonna think I'm weird! He won't want to help me..._

"Yeees...?" Neiku pressed.

Sweetie Belle shot her focus to him, shouting frantically.

"If I tell you, then you have to promise to help me!"

Neiku felt a bead form on his brow. "Huh?"

"I'll only tell you if you promise to help me!" Sweetie Belle hesitantly spat out.

_You're kidding me... _Neiku thought. _She practically pony-naps me for some 'help', but now she won't even tell me what she needs help with?! Why, this prude little-_

Neiku forced himself a slow, determined breath.

_Calm down, Passion,_ Neiku told himself, using the name his mother used to call him. _Might as well play along. No need to get angry with her. Heck, if it's as important as this mare seems to be making it out to be, I really should help her..._

He felt a vein pulse on his forehead. _Even if she's completely crazy..._

With a quick mental buck to himself for what he was about to do, Neiku opened his eyes and turned his gaze to rest fully on the still stammering Sweetie Belle.

"C-cuz you don't have to s-say you will, b-but I c-can only tell you if-" Sweetie Belle continued, oblivious to Neiku's momentary mental argument.

"Sweetie."

"I m-mean, if you d-don't want to, it's fine, b-but-" she continued, paying no attention to Neiku.

"Sweetie..." Neiku pressed again.

"It's no b-big deal, really, I just-"

"SWEETIE!" Neiku barked, startling Sweetie back to reality.

"Wha- huh? Yes?" she asked, confused by his outburst. _He didn't seem the type to shout... _she thought.

Neiku bit back a retort to this, but instead swallowed his tongue. "I'll do it." he said evenly.

Sweetie Belle stood there, stunned. _Did he really just... Agree?_

"... What?" she drooled out, lamely.

"I _said_, I'll do it. I promise to help you out. Just... don't expect too much, 'kay?" he said with a small, lop-sided grin on his face.

"You... you really mean it?" Sweetie asked, eyes wide with hope. "You'll help me however I need, whenever I need? Any time, however I say so?"

Neiku wasn't really listening at this point, and simply nodded. "Fine, yeah..."

"Really?" Sweetie asked again, her face suddenly breaths away from Neiku. Neiku gulped.

"Y-yeah," he stated. "Besides, not much point in arguing with you. You'd probably just end up abducting me again..." he added.

"Yay!" Sweetie suddenly perked up, unphased by Neiku's little jab at the end. "Then we need to start right away! C'mon!" Sweetie Belle wrapped a loop of her magic around Neiku's hoof and drug him after her as she bounded through the house, purposefully avoiding her sister's room.

"Wait! Where are we going?!" Neiku cried.

"My room!" Sweetie Belle informed him as she clambered onto the landing. A moment later, she was slamming her door shut, locking it with her and Neiku safely inside.

"Why are we in here?!" Neiku asked, visibly terrified. He sure hoped that Sweetie Belle wasn't planning on doing anything... obscene.

"Cuz I don't want my sister hearing us!" she said. Neiku gulped.

_Oh no..._ he thought.

"Hear us... what?" he asked, scared of what the answer might be.

Sweetie Belle, however, was far more interested in fiddling with a chest on her floor.

Neiku took this moment to look around Sweetie's room. It was pink and had silly frillies all over the walls, pictures of her with her fellow crusaders spanning one entire wall.

_She really must care about her friends,_ Neiku thought to himself.

"Okay!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, perhaps a little too loudly. Neiku jumped in fright at the sound.

"This is what I... needed you to help me with..." she ended with a whisper, magicking a clean white envelope over to Neiku. He grasped it with a hoof, looking at the front.

_To Nimbus Aura, From Sweetie Belle._

The 'I' in Nimbus and Sweetie was dotted with a little heart.

Neiku felt his stomach drop a little. He knew what this was...

"Sweetie, is this a-"

"You said you would! You promised!" Sweetie cried out, pointing a trembling hoof at Neiku.

Neiku took a deep breath. He did promise, and he planned on honoring it. However, he had to know-

"Sweetie," he asked, "is this a... love letter?"

Sweetie Belle squeaked as she hid behind her mane, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Neiku chuckled rather ironically at her before trotting over to her and carefully placing a hoof on her, letting it rest gently against her soft white coat.

"Don't worry," he told her. "I'll make sure he gets it."

Sweetie Belle sniffled.

_My- was she actually crying?!_ Neiku thought, horrified. _She must have been really worked up about this..._

"Hey," Neiku said, bringing his hoof to under her chin and forcing her to look up.

He locked his eyes on hers. They were tinged red from strain, and she had the most adorable yet upset face a pony could ever see.

"He'll get it. Don't worry."

Sweetie Belle smiled softly, nodding as she batted away his hoof.

"Th-thank you," she said, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

"It's no problem, honestly," Neiku told her.

Sweetie Belle gave a croaked laugh before sighing.

"That was... really all I needed to ask you, heh," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"So I can leave?" Neiku asked, a little too hopeful. Sweetie narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Yeah, you can..." she said before she remembered one teensy little detail.

"But you can't go out through the front door!"

"Why?!" Neiku asked. "Isn't that how ponies normally leave in this country?"

Sweetie Belle face-hoofed at how thick he was being.

"Yes, normally. However, my sister is probably going to hear you leaving. She gets, lik, hyper-alert after she has a break-down."

"I'm not following," Neiku admitted.

"Well..." Sweetie Belle continued. "My sister is reaaally protective. She would face down a raging hydra if it meant protecting me; I'd hate to see what she'd do to you if she saw you trying to _sneak out of my room_."

A little lightbulb went off inside Neiku's head.

"Oooh..." he muttered dumbly. It made sense now.

"Exactly," Sweetie Belle said, nodding. "I suppose you could climb out my window. It opens up to the-"

A split second later, both of their hearts stopped.

"Sweetie Belle, did I hear you dear?"

It was Rarity.

"Go." Sweetie Belle dead-panned.

"On it."

Neiku was out the window and desperately grasping a thick branch of the tree that grew right alongside the boutique. He dropped to the ground, beating hoof to desperately put distance between him and the building. Sweetie's letter was clenched between his jaws as he galloped away.

He had a job to do.


End file.
